On May 2, 2024, Jefferson’s hallways and classrooms held an eerie silence. A day that was scheduled to go normally was drastically changed after the threat of a school shooting was discovered scribbled onto a boy’s bathroom stall.
“That doesn’t happen in our area. I think in TJ especially you wouldn’t expect [the threat] because people have to apply to get in here and go through the whole application process,” junior Ella Tysse said.
Principal Ann Bonitabitus issued an email to all parents the day before, May 1, to address the anxiety and fear.
“Based on our school’s ongoing investigation, and in consultation with the FCPS Office of Safety and Security, we have determined the risk level to our school to be low … Out of an abundance of caution tomorrow, we will have an increased security presence on campus,” the email said.
Despite the reassurance, many students decided to stay home that Thursday. Some teachers expressed understanding for their students’ fears.
“I didn’t look at it as skipping. I think everybody had to do what they had to do that day, just based on their own concerns. If I were a [Jefferson] student I probably would have stayed home,” a Jefferson teacher said.
The threat, scrawled into a stall of the boys bathroom near the cafeteria, appeared sloppy and last-minute. The writer set the threat for Friday, seemingly forgetting there would be no school that day. They then scribbled out Friday and wrote “Thursday” above their scribble. The message included threats to the school’s security and detailed what the student planned to do, including “I want to burn this place to the ground” and “I want to grab your taser and strangle you.”
“I just saw the picture yesterday, and I was horrified and disappointed in the fact that such a thing would happen here. It was on my mind all day. But I tried to just keep the class on task so that we could stay distracted,” a Jefferson teacher said.